Friday, June 6, 2014

Leslie Rutledge, in the runoff for the Republican nomination for attorney general, is calling down her opponent David Sterling for taking a campaign contribution from a payday lender.

He reported a $2,000 contribution from Ace Cash Express. Says the Rutledge campaign:

The predatory practices of payday lenders take advantage of Arkansans and go after the most economically deprived individuals and communities in Arkansas. Payday lenders often charge upwards of 800% interest on loan preying on those in need. A critical role of the Attorney General is to protect Arkansas consumers against those who seek to harm and take advantage of them.

"How can someone protect Arkansans from the predatory practices of payday lenders while at the same time accepting thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from them? As Arkansas's Attorney General, I will fight to protect consumers and will not let payday lenders take advantage of hardworking Arkansans. I want the people of Arkansas to know that the Attorney General's Office is not for sale," added Rutledge.

Current Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has vigorously pursued the payday lending business. His office's legal action has effectively rooted the business out of Arkansas. So a friend for a potential A.G. from this industry is, at a minimum, worth a note. You can't help but wonder if their ilk might be among the sources for the secret dollars that has been used to trash Rutledge and help Sterling.

Pruitt's appointment is a disaster for the planet, if you believe what science says about climate change. /more/

Last month, the Arkansas Bar Association circulated the final draft of a proposed constitutional amendment to chose members of the Arkansas Supreme Court by appointment rather than election. Now, it's hosting public forums to discuss the proposal. /more/

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge takes on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over new rules concerning "critical habitat" for endangered and threatened species. /more/

Arkansas is a strange place, CNN's newswire discovered. Soon, though people in half of Arkansas's counties can't legally buy a six-pack of beer, those with qualifying medical conditions will be able to legally use marijuana throughout the state. CNN talked to Navy veteran Blake Ruckle, of Fayetteville, who said he struggled with alcoholism and his PTSD made him contemplate suicide. Marijuana was the only thing that helped. Also, the Family Council was available for the retrograde perspective. /more/

Federal Judge Amos Mazzant, a judge for the eastern district of Texas, has issued a preliminary injunction against a new Department of Labor rule on the income at which employees are entitled to overtime pay. Arkansas had joined 19 other states, generally led by Republicans, to fight higher pay for workers. /more/

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, mentioned as a potential Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Trump administration, is continuing her fight against EPA rules aimed at reducing haze in Arkansas from airborn pollutants. /more/

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge passed through the press gaggle watching combings and goings at the Trump transition HQ in Trump Tower in New York and said she was open to a job in the Trump administration. You go girl. /more/

The New York Times reports that Senate Democrats are looking for ways to work with a Trump administration. Think trade policy, infrastructure spending, some family-friendly ideas like paid maternity leave. /more/

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Michael Wickline reported this morning that, for the second time in four years, Republican Rep. Mark Lowery had been cited by the state Ethics Commission for failing to comply with campaign finance reporting law. The minor penalty won't discourage similar in the future. /more/

Fidel Castro's death and Donald Trump both raise questions about the future of U.S.-Cuba relations. Also: Tom Cotton is apparently God.

An early open line.

Readers also liked…

This just in from state Education Department: Today, Commissioner Johnny Key reached an agreement with Dr. Dexter Suggs that resulted in Dr. Suggs’ immediate resignation as superintendent of the Little Rock School District.

Dexter Suggs may have cleared out his office before the workday began today, but he still has lingering legal matters as defendant in lawsuits against him and the state.

Most Shared

Next week a series of meetings on the use of technology to tackle global problems will be held in Little Rock by Club de Madrid — a coalition of more than 100 former democratic former presidents and prime ministers from around the world — and the P80 Group, a coalition of large public pension and sovereign wealth funds founded by Prince Charles to combat climate change. The conference will discuss deploying existing technologies to increase access to food, water, energy, clean environment, and medical care.

Plus, recipes from the Times staff.

Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) was on "Capitol View" on KARK, Channel 4, this morning, and among other things that will likely inspire you to yell at your computer screen, he said he expects someone in the legislature to file a bill to do ... something about changing the name of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.

So fed up was young Edgar Welch of Salisbury, N.C., that Hillary Clinton was getting away with running a child-sex ring that he grabbed a couple of guns last Sunday, drove 360 miles to the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C., where Clinton was supposed to be holding the kids as sex slaves, and fired his AR-15 into the floor to clear the joint of pizza cravers and conduct his own investigation of the pedophilia syndicate of the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state.

There is almost nothing real about "reality TV." All but the dullest viewers understand that the dramatic twists and turns on shows like "The Bachelor" or "Celebrity Apprentice" are scripted in advance. More or less like professional wrestling, Donald Trump's previous claim to fame.

Longtime KARK anchor Beth Ward died last night from complications of heart surgery, according to a report from THV11.

Rep. Kim Hendren this week filed a bill to prohibits the use of cell phones, pagers, beepers, digital media players, digital cameras, digital game consoles, and digital video or audio recorders for public students during the school day.